Apparatus for dispensing absorbent sheet material from a roll, also referred to as absorbent sheet material dispensers, are well-known in the prior art. The absorbent sheet roll of the dispenser is regularly replaced upon depletion, and various solutions for easily allowing service personnel to check the current fill level of the roll, i.e. the amount of absorbent sheet material that is still available for consumption of the roll, exists.
One solution for the service personnel to check roll fill level is to simply open the outer cover of the dispenser to determine current fill level. This procedure however is time consuming and results in high wear of the cover opening and locking mechanism. Another solution is to provide the outer cover of the dispenser with a window that allows the service personnel to see the roll from the outside of the dispenser, and thus to determine the roll fill level without opening the outer cover. This procedure allows more swift check of the roll fill level but may be unattractive from a dispenser design perspective. Yet another solution, which is known from EP0933054, involves providing a roll diameter sensor and an indicator for providing an indication to a service personal when the roll has reached a predetermined diameter. A disadvantage with this solution is the complexity of the sensor and indication mechanism, the additional work required by the service personal to handle the sensor and indication mechanism during replacement of the roll, and the that fact that the roll may be replaced with a relatively large amount of absorbent sheet material still available on the roll merely because the indicator has been actuated.
There is thus a need for an improved apparatus for dispensing absorbent sheet material from a roll that removes the above mentioned disadvantages.